Governments and health care companies are only part of the solution in creating a sustainable and healthier future in a global health care system where 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases and 40 percent of cancers are preventable; personal decisions and responsibility also play a large role.

Victimizing obesity as a disease is dangerous territory, and from my perspective just feels like another excuse for pharmaceutical companies to make money. Why would anyone choose diet and exercise over a magic pill? I certainly wouldn't.

Why do we seem so incapable of accomplishing a goal that we set for ourselves and truly desire? Part of the answer has to do with timing. Winter is not an ideal season to successfully execute big changes.